Aung San Suu Kyi Spends Another Birthday Imprisoned

June 17, 2009

Detained Burmese democracy leader and Nobel Peace Laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, is spending her 64th birthday in Insein Pr ison. She has been detained for more than 13 years by the Burmese military junta and was moved to Insein Prison after her arrest on 14 May 2009.

Aung San Suu Kyi has committed no crime. However, she currently faces a sentence of 3-5 years and a mockery of a trial. The democratic leader will remain in prison for her 64th birthday. The charges are widely felt to be an attempt to add trumped-up charges at a time when her unlawful detention was scheduled to end 27 May 2009. View a short video about her here:

In the weeks leading up to Aung San Suu Kyi’s 64th birthday, the international community has responded with calls to action against the gross human rights abuses in Burma. This birthday marks the democratic leader’s 14th birthday in detention.

Petition Delivered to the United Nations

In New York, a delegation of former prisoners and activists has delivered a petition signed by nearly 680,000 people urging U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to make the release of more than 2,100 political prisoners in Burma, including Aung San Suu Kyi, a “personal priority.”

Political Prisoners’ Statement

Activist groups have also gathered the signatures of 107 former or current political prisoners from more than 20 countries calling for freedom for Burma’s jailed dissidents. They have all signed a special 64 word message to Aung San Suu Kyi to mark her 64th birthday. The statement has been signed by former political prisoners like Shirin Ebadi, Terry Waite, and Vaclav Havel.

“The continued denial of your freedom unacceptably attacks the human rights of all 2,156 political prisoners in Myanmar. As those also incarcerated for our political beliefs, we share the worldXs outrage. We call on the United Nations Security Council to press the Myanmar Government to immediately release all political prisoners, and to restrict the weapons that strengthen its hand through a global arms embargo.”

Read the complete statement from former political prisoners.

Nobel Peace Laureates and others add their voices

The six other living women Nobel Peace Laureates, along with celebrities such as Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, and George Clooney have made special 64-word statements commemorating Aung San Suu Kyi’s birthday. These statements are posted at www.64forSuu.org . Other celebrities that have sent messages include U2′s Bono, Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono, David Beckham, Daniel Craig, Sandra Bullock, and Richard Branson. Political leaders such as Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the UK, and former President of South Korea, Kim Dae-Jung have also sent messages. Stephen Fry, Eddie Izzard, Kevin Spacey and Sarah Brown have been “tweeting” about the campaign. The website “64 for Suu” was set up to gather birthday wishes — including many via Twitter and YouTube — and has so far received over 10,000 messages.

Supporters across the world will mark the day with events ranging from live music and speeches in Malaysia, evening vigils in Ireland and Australia and debating forums in Thailand. Visit www.64forSuu.org to look for events in your area.